A PRICE ABOVE RUBIES Directed by Boaz Yakin The last time Hollywood appropriated New York's Orthodox Jewish community as a backdrop for drama the result was the infamous "A Stranger Among Us," which featured the absurd sight of Melanie Griffith, practically the poster girl for goyim, trying to pass herself off as a Hassidic to investigate a murder. Despite the controversy it generated during its production, "A Price Above Rubies" turns out to be a much more credible, albeit critical, look at a secretive, low-key society. Writer-director Boaz Yakin has fashioned a mostly compelling story of a woman's search for identity in a world dominated largely by men, and Renee Zellweger, previously best known as the sweet mom from "Jerry Maguire," delivers a quietly stunning performance in the lead. "Rubies" centers around Sofia (Zellweger), who grew up in an Orthodox home and married a great scholar, just as her parents wanted her to. But now, after having a baby and moving to New York with her husband Mendel (Glenn Fitzgerald), Sofia's starting to feel constrained and claims she's being tormented by an "inner fire." "I don't even know where my body ends and my soul begins," Sofia tells her Rebbe (John Randolph) after Mendel shames her for her enthusiasm in bed and she unintentionally makes a pass at her stern sister-in-law Rachel (Julianna Margulies). Using his sister-in-law's confusion and her natural talent for determining the quality of jewels to his own advantage, Mendel's less-reverent brother Sender (Christopher Eccleston) seduces Sofia, then puts her to work as a buyer for his jewelry store. Sofia's affair doesn't bring her liberation or even the sexual release she seems to be craving, but it does finally present her with the opportunity to have some control over her own life. Zellweger has a face the camera adores and a low-key charm that makes Sofia almost instantly recognizable, even though the culture she's a part of seems quaint and foreign at first. Although "Rubies" veers perilously close to melodrama in its last third, Zellweger's honesty keeps the movie on track. Eccleston and Fitzgerald are both fine as the men Sofia is caught between, and Margulies, in a surprisingly unsympathetic role, is suitably severe. Yakin, also previously looked into the world of ghetto youths in his smart and insightful "Fresh," manages to blend a certain degree of mysticism into his drama without turning it into incomprehensible nonsense. Most authors wouldn't even dare to have Sofia plagued by visions of the ghost of her beloved brother: In Yakin's hands, it seems perfectly logical. James Sanford
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